Ten Kinds of Fearlessness Begin
The first five kinds of fearlessness move from a bodhisattva's confidence in answering any possible question, through unobstructed eloquence, to something more radical: fearlessness grounded not in skill but in seeing no self, no dharma, and no fault at all — nothing left, in other words, that could actually be threatened.
Fearless Because Nothing Is There to Threaten
Every one of these five kinds of fearlessness follows the same structure: a bodhisattva considers whether anything could actually harm or embarrass them — a hard question, a flaw in conduct, a fault in body, speech, or mind — sees no such mark anywhere, and only then declares fearlessness. The third makes the logic explicit: because there is no self and nothing belonging to a self, there is nothing left for any harm to land on.
佛子！菩薩摩訶薩有十種無畏。何等為十？佛子！菩薩摩訶薩悉能聞持一切言說，作如是念：『設有眾生無量無邊從十方來，以百千大法而問於我。我於彼問不見微少難可答相；以不見故，心得無畏，究竟到彼大無畏岸，隨其所問悉能酬對，斷其疑惑無有怯弱。』是為菩薩第一無畏。佛子！菩薩摩訶薩得如來灌頂無礙辯才，到於一切文字言音開示祕密究竟彼岸，作如是念：『設有眾生無量無邊從十方來，以無量法而問於我。我於彼問不見微少難可答相；以不見故，心得無畏，究竟到彼大無畏岸，隨其所問悉能酬對，斷其疑惑無有恐懼。』是為菩薩第二無畏。
"Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva has ten kinds of fearlessness. What are these ten? Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva is able to hear and uphold every kind of speech, and thinks in this way: 'Should measureless, boundless sentient beings come from the ten directions and question me with hundreds of thousands of great teachings, I see not the slightest mark of anything difficult to answer among their questions; and because I see no such mark, my mind attains fearlessness, ultimately reaching the far shore of great fearlessness, able to respond fully to whatever is asked, resolving every doubt without any timidity.' This is a bodhisattva's first fearlessness. Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva, having attained the tathāgata's own consecration of unobstructed eloquence, reaching the ultimate far shore of revealing every secret through every letter and word, thinks in this way: 'Should measureless, boundless sentient beings come from the ten directions and question me with measureless teachings, I see not the slightest mark of anything difficult to answer among their questions; and because I see no such mark, my mind attains fearlessness, ultimately reaching the far shore of great fearlessness, able to respond fully to whatever is asked, resolving every doubt without any dread.' This is a bodhisattva's second fearlessness.
佛子！菩薩摩訶薩知一切法空，離我、離我所，無作、無作者，無知者，無命者，無養育者，無補伽羅，離蘊、界、處，永出諸見，心如虛空，作如是念：『不見眾生有微少相能損惱我身、語、意業。』何以故？菩薩遠離我、我所故，不見諸法有少性相。以不見故，心得無畏，究竟到彼大無畏岸，堅固勇猛，不可沮壞，是為菩薩第三無畏。佛子！菩薩摩訶薩佛力所護、佛力所持，住佛威儀，所行真實，無有變易，作如是念：『我不見有少分威儀，令諸眾生生訶責相。』以不見故，心得無畏，於大眾中安隱說法，是為菩薩第四無畏。佛子！菩薩摩訶薩身、語、意業皆悉清淨，鮮白柔和，遠離眾惡，作如是念：『我不自見身、語、意業而有少分可訶責相。』以不見故，心得無畏，能令眾生住於佛法，是為菩薩第五無畏。
Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva, knowing that every dharma is empty, free of self and free of what belongs to self, without action and without an actor, without a knower, without a life-principle, without a nurturer, without a person, free of the aggregates, elements, and sense-bases, forever gone beyond every view, their mind exactly like empty space, thinks in this way: 'I see no sentient being bearing the slightest mark able to harm or trouble my deeds of body, speech, or mind.' Why is this? Because a bodhisattva, being free of self and what belongs to self, sees no dharma possessing even the slightest nature or mark. Because they see no such thing, their mind attains fearlessness, ultimately reaching the far shore of great fearlessness, firm and courageous, unable to be broken. This is a bodhisattva's third fearlessness. Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva, protected by the buddha's own power and sustained by the buddha's own power, abiding in the buddha's own bearing, whose conduct is true and never changes, thinks in this way: 'I see not even the slightest portion of my own bearing that would cause any sentient being to give rise to a thought of reproach.' Because they see no such thing, their mind attains fearlessness, teaching the dharma at ease within any great assembly. This is a bodhisattva's fourth fearlessness. Son of the Buddha! A bodhisattva-mahāsattva, whose deeds of body, speech, and mind are all entirely pure, bright, and gentle, forever far from every evil, thinks in this way: 'I myself see not the slightest portion of my own deeds of body, speech, or mind bearing any mark deserving reproach.' Because they see no such thing, their mind attains fearlessness, able to cause sentient beings to abide in the buddha-dharma. This is a bodhisattva's fifth fearlessness.
菩薩遠離我、我所故，不見諸法有少性相 — because a bodhisattva, being free of self and what belongs to self, sees no dharma possessing even the slightest nature or mark. The third fearlessness gives the clearest reason of the five: fearlessness here is not confidence that no harm will come, but the absence of any self or possession for harm to be directed at in the first place.
Part 736 Complete
This continues chapter thirty-eight, 離世間品, in fascicle fifty-six. Part 737 continues the ten kinds of fearlessness with the sixth through tenth, completing the full set.